Agile project management may initially have evolved for the software development industry but it is increasingly being used for projects in other industries, often in conjunction with more traditional techniques. This trend has been growing as many project managers come to the realisation that one single methodology may not suit every part of a project and using a combination of techniques can improve delivery. Agile methods are particularly effective for ensuring successful delivery of products where the specific requirements are uncertain (hence its common use in software development projects).
When an agile approach is being used tasks will be completed in short time frames (typically no more than a few weeks) with a working deliverable at the end of the period so that uncertain requirements can be refined. This process is repeated until the deliverable meets the business objectives. So for many projects where it is difficult or impossible to define detailed requirements at the outset, this approach can work well.
The Difficulty Defining Requirements
It is more common than you might expect that requirements are difficult to define clearly; businesses know what their business objectives are but may not understand what they need to create in order to achieve those objectives. The high-level overview may be difficult to translate into meaningful documentation and this is where we see the benefits of project management methods and the agile approach, in particular, become so useful. It gives you the opportunity to create something that is understood to be incomplete but it is still something tangible. Once that exists it gradually becomes easier to specifically state what is right about it and wrong about it, hence refine the requirements through an iterative process of constant improvements.
This way of working on projects means that the final, approved deliverable is much more likely to meet the client's aims than if a detailed requirements document was drawn up months, or even years, in advance and hardly changed throughout the life of the project.
Another advantage of this iterative way of working, in addition to a better final product, is that it needs good collaborative relationships to be set up between stakeholders and the team members delivering the work. Collaborative working is far more conducive to success than a traditional approach where those doing the work may never even meet the clients.
Of course, agile project management is not the answer to every problem a project might have and it has to have well-controlled processes in place to ensure the project does not drift from the main purpose of delivering the business objectives; scope creep is a potential problem in all projects, however they are managed. It also needs clear documentation just like a project being managed more traditionally, it simply places less emphasis on having highly detailed documentation in place before work can begin.
Agile Project Management Features
- Regular, iterative processes to define and satisfy client requirements.
- Planning and delivering is done over short, regular intervals of up to a few weeks.
- Collaborative relationships are built between stakeholders and the project team, ensuring the essential good communication.
- Requirements can change and evolve significantly during the project's life in order to deliver business benefits.
- The project team is responsible as a whole for making decisions about how the project progresses.
- Processes and controls are used to guarantee the project satisfies the business objectives.
- Processes and controls are in place to ensure the project team function as a team.
What are the disadvantages of Agile Project Management?
As with any project, no approach can eliminate risks entirely. Projects by their very nature are usually risky, but one of the disadvantages of an agile approach is that it is less easy to identify serious risks because work is started so early in the project lifecycle. However, by delivering something tangible early on and then at regular intervals, it is hoped that risks will become apparent sooner rather than later.
Another disadvantage is that managing resources, time, budget and people, is often done less effectively. The counter argument is that we work in a fast-paced business landscape and such an environment will never be as efficient as one where projects take longer to deliver so resources can be controlled more comprehensively.
This article was written by Parallel Project Training, an accredited provider specialising in Project Management training solutions and qualifications.